


Never Too Late

by dokidoti



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-22
Updated: 2020-04-22
Packaged: 2021-03-01 23:15:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,110
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23785369
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dokidoti/pseuds/dokidoti
Summary: You've been sent to New York by your parents to study, leaving your close friend Soonyoung behind. Three years later, as you came back home, you soon learn that Soonyoung has now debuted to become an artist in Korea. Will he ever recognize you again?
Relationships: SEVENTEEN Ensemble/Reader
Comments: 2
Kudos: 19





	Never Too Late

It was already dark and chilly. You were slouched in front of your small study table neatly tucked in the space between your bed and your dorm room wall. You’ve been studying for hours and you can barely remember the last time you grabbed a meal. You took out your phone and checked the time, it’s 10:30 pm. 

It’s already 11:30 am in Korea by now. 

It’s been three whole years since you last came home. The decision to pursue studying abroad was never yours to begin with, your Appa always told you that studying in New York was the dream that the eldest daughter should be able to achieve. And thus here you are, the family sacrifice. 

And the idea of coming home for a summer vacation was a bit weird. How will the family react? What will the neighbors say? Will your friends still remember you? Will the places you were familiar with stay as they are? If you ever come back, will Soonyoung still be able to recognize you?

At the chaos of your thoughts, your phone suddenly rings. It was Hee Jin, your closest cousin calling from Korea. Hesitant, you pick up the phone..

“Hey Hee Jin, it’s really late here can you call ano--”

“Ji Hyun! Stop! Don’t say anything! Just hear me out!” your cousin blurts out, obviously in excitement

“What is it now?” you said as you wanted it to end as soon as possible

“It’s Soonyoung.” Hee Jin said. 

Soonyoung? The name instantly puts you into a hold, a pause crept in between the noise of the telephone. 

“Do you still remember him?” Hee Jin continued “Hello? Ji Hyun are you there?” 

Oh you do. You clearly remember everything. You swallowed the lump inside your throat that suddenly formed and answered “Yeah, Soonyoung. What about him?”

“He’s debuting!” Hee Jin shouted “Remember how much you waited for this? It’s been so long Ji Hyun! Soonyoung is finally debuting with his members!”

Flashbacks from three years ago suddenly made its way to your head, snippets of Soonyoung’s face, of the times you were together walking to practice, the times you gave him vitamins before heading to Pledis, the times when his 12 other members took the food you prepared even before he had the time to taste it, his smile, his warmth, everything. Suddenly you felt elated. Soonyoung, your Soonyoung. His dream is finally coming true! 

“Earth to Ji Hyun!” Hee Jin shouted “Overseas calls are expensive, just to remind you.” 

You came back to your senses and replied “Oh wow! That’s- That’s great!”

“Really? I took my precious time to call from Seoul to New York, just to hear you say that?” 

“I mean, I am happy. It’s actually really great! He waited for it for so long. Wow, I can only imagine how his eyes are thinned to flat lines out of happiness.” 

“Aww, look at you reminiscing how he looks like.” Hee Jin coos. “Do you still like him?” she added.

“What? No of course not!” you lied “It’s been so long Hee Jin, it was just a silly crush.” 

“O-kay, whatever you say” Hee Jin laughed so bad it caused static to the call “Anyways, I just really called to tell you that I’ll be the one to pick you up from the airport. Just make sure send me in your flight details so I’d know what time I’ll wait for you.” 

“I’m suddenly scared to come home knowing you’ll drive.” you joked, which made Hee Jin snarl.

“Oh please, I got a perfect score in the driver’s license exam. Anyway I gotta go!” 

“Okay. Thanks for the err- um.. information, I guess?” you said

“You can thank me later” she said and cut the call before you could even reply. 

Soonyoung was debuting? Wow. For how long has he been training? You flew to New York three years ago, he was already two years into the training program back then. So five years? Soonyoung had been training for five years! And finally his dreams are coming true. 

Screw this studying, you were leaving for Korea tomorrow anyway. You kept your papers and went to dive on your bed to catch up on some needed sleep. 

And you dozed off so soundly only to dream of him again.

Your memory suddenly brings you to the playground beside the apartment complex where both of you live. Soonyoung lived far from Seoul, he lived in Namyangju which was a couple of hours away from the city. And the company dorm where he stayed with his members was just right beside your family’s unit. 

You always sat on the swings together, just before he starts his practice. You can still clearly picture him, tall and slender, like he was built to perform. His hands were always smudged with ink, because he spends his free time drawing choreographies, even in school. Just like that day, the last time you ever talked to him, the day before your flight to New York. 

“Do you really have to leave?” Soonyoung asked, playing with the sand on the ground.

“Hoshi..” you called him, the nickname that only you know, as you gave it to him.

“Do you have any other options?” he asked 

“If I had the choice not to?” you said “I’d stay here.” 

He showed you a sad smile. “I wish you wouldn’t leave.” He said as he looked at you with the softest gaze you ever saw in your life. It was so sad your heart broke just by the way he was looking at you. 

“It’s only going to be for a short while.” you said as you touched the necklace he gave you the day he knew you were leaving “I’m just going there to study then I will come back.” 

“But..” he paused and stared at his ink-stained hands “I want you to see me debut..”

Your heart sank. This boy, Kwon Soonyoung, wanted you to stay. “I want you to see me make my dream come true.” 

Baffled you ask him “But why?” 

“Because I want the girl that I like to be in the audience while I give my very best.” Shyly he answered. 

He—He liked you?

“What?” you said “I did’t quite catch that.” 

“Aww come on Ji Hyun, it was so hard to say it! I even practiced that last night!” he said as he stood up in frustration. You on the other hand, laughed a little. He then scratched his head and dropped to a kneeling position to where you were seated. He reached for the chains and wrapped his hands over yours. 

“Listen.” he said as he lowered his head to the level of yours “I like you, Lee Ji Hyun.”

You blinked twice. Speechless, you stared at him “I’m serious Ji Hyun. I like you so much.” 

“I don’t know where or when it started, all I know is that I like it when you’re around and that having you support me makes me feel 10x better than when you’re not. I like it when you give me vitamins before practice and I love it when the members eat the food you prepared for me because you show me how much you care! All I’m saying is, I like you Ji Hyun and I want to make you proud!” Soonyoung said, and breathless he removed his hands from yours but you quickly caught it. 

He froze and looked at where your fingers were wrapped, over his pinky finger, where the Seventeen ring was placed. 

“But can you wait for me?” you said 

“What?” fazed, he suddenly looked confused 

“I can’t stay Hoshi, but..” you paused “I like you too, can you wait for me instead?” 

Clearly he was shocked. You were shocked as well. It all happened too fast and suddenly he placed a kiss on your cheek and whispered to your ear..

“No matter how long, I’ll wait for you to come back.” 

Then your alarm went ringing and you were awake.   
\--  
“Hee Jin, is this really the way back home? I think you took the wrong exit.” You said as your cousin drove thorugh the busy streets of Seoul. You just had a 14 hour flight and the traffic wasn’t really helping you with the jetlag at all. 

“Who told you we were going straight home?” she sheepishly replied

“Wait- What are you talking about? I’m not ready for recreational activities Miss, I am tired.” You replied as you knocked your head back to the passenger’s seat. 

“Can’t we just wait tomorrow?” you added.

Hee Jin stepped on the gas even further and sped up the freeway “No!” she said “The broadcast is today, we can’t be late and we can’t delay because it’s today!” she said focused on the road.

“Broadcast?! What broadcast?! If this is something related to your favourite show please just count me out.” you said. 

“Literally, you’ll say your thanks to me later. Now shut up and rest for a while!” she said

Oh you didn’t rest. Because the next thing you know, you saw the big building with flyers and banners. There were tons dangling around, over the light posts, beside bus stops, even the busses had promotions. You were taking everything all in, all at once and you instantly realize..

“Hee Jin, please don’t tell me I’m right.” As you held on to your seatbelt. 

“Oh you’re absolutely right Ji Hyun. It’s Soonyoung’s debut today.” She said as she parked just beside the MBC Building where it was all happening.

Hee Jin took your hands and dragged you inside. Wearing heels was definitely not the best decision you made. A swarm of fans holding banners and lightsticks welcomed you as you entered the studio. It was packed and Hee Jin, being the brazen person she was, squeezed into fans towards the barricade, even fighting the younger ones. You clearly were the odd one out. You looked pretty old to be where you were standing. 

Then the show started. 

It was noisy, everyone was screaming and your heart was pumping an overly adequate amount of blood through your body based on how much you were shaking. Suddenly 13 men walked slowly out the backstage as the music started. 

You saw him at the center stage, oozing with stage presence like a tiger eyeing its prey. You were standing right in front of Soonyoung and everything suddenly started to blur. Your eyes suddenly brimmed with tears, he was fulfilling his dream, and you were there, just like you promised. You were there to see his dream come to life.   
The first performance was done and now you were blended with the audience sitting silently. Just like how he wanted you to be. The members introduced themselves.

“Hello everybody! My name is Hoshi!” 

Hoshi? His stage name was Hoshi?

The emcee continued to talk “Hoshi is such a unique name.” she said

“Yes, well..” Soonyoung answered “Hoshi is a Japanese term for star, somebody gave it to me in hopes that I will shine brightly when I hit the stage.”

You gave it to him. You broke into a smile and into a slight giggle, he used it after all. 

The show continued to its end. The band Seventeen, where he belongs has now officially announced their debut. You watched the boys go back stage and the people from the crowd slowly lessened in numbers. You still couldn’t believe it. He finally did it. And you were there to witness it. 

You fulfilled your promise. 

“Let’s go?” Hee Jin said as she wiped the tears from your cheeks “You’ve been crying since the start of the show.” 

“I’m fine.” You smiled “I’m just happy.” 

“Oh you better be, took me long to get tickets. Wow they just debuted and it’s already so ha—“

“Ya, Lee Ji Hyun!” a familiar voice shouted from afar 

You turned to where the voice was, and you saw a figure running towards where you were. 

“Oh my God-” Hee Jin said “It’s him.” 

“Soonyoung..” you whispered

Breathless, he stopped in front of you and smiled, his braces were gone and he’s gotten taller, he looked at you with the same eyes before you left. His gaze landed on yours and he smiled.

“You came.” he said, panting “You’re here.” 

“I’m not too late, aren’t I?” you said 

“No.” he replied “You’re just in time.” 

Then he wrapped you around his arms. The same beautiful boy, who is now three years older is right here. 

“Thanks for waiting..” you said

He tightened his hug and replied.. 

“Thanks for coming back.”

**Author's Note:**

> \- inspired by a true story


End file.
